THIS WEEK @ UARTS: March 3 - 16, 2014

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ANNOUNCEMENTSUArts Alum Jared Leto Wins Oscar for 'Dallas Buyers Club'
Former UArts Painting major Jared Leto ’93 was named Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Dallas Buyers Club” at last night’s Academy Awards ceremony. He adds the Oscar statuette to his recent Golden Globe win for the same film in the same category. The actor, musician, singer and songwriter dropped 40 pounds to play the role of Rayon, a transgender woman dying of AIDS. He has also starred in numerous other productions, including “My So-Called Life,” “How to Make an American Quilt,” “Girl, Interrupted,” “Requiem for a Dream” and “American Psycho.” Leto is also the lead vocalist and main songwriter for Thirty Seconds to Mars, a rock band he formed in 1998 with his brother, Shannon Leto.

Save the Date: Art Unleashed 2014
Join us for the fifth anniversary edition of Art Unleashed, the University's largest fundraiser, set for April 9 – 15 in Hamilton Hall. The exhibition and sale raises funds to support scholarships for young artists, with artwork in all media from talented students, faculty and alumni.

Blick's Double Discount Days
Are you a Preferred Card member? Stop by Blick Art Materials' Philadelphia store to sign up as a student or teacher and get 10% off all year round. Double Discount Days is a Preferred Cardholder exclusive event, where cardholders receive 20% off from March 7 to March 9. Don’t miss out on great artist-inspired demos, giveaways and fun planned all weekend long. Sign up now >>

Museum Studies Professor Featured on 'VoiceAmerica'
Assistant Professor Polly McKenna-Cress MFA '95 (Museum Exhibition Planning & Design), director of the University’s MEPD program, was featured on VoiceAmerica.com, a pioneer in original web-based talk radio programming. McKenna-Cress spoke as part of “The Museum Life” series in an episode titled “Creating Exhibitions.” Listen to the episode >>

Alumna's 'Speaking OUT' Photo Essay Becomes Book"Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus," a photographic essay by current School of Design staff member, former Photography staff/faculty member and alumna Rachelle Lee Smith BFA '02 (Photography), will be published as a book by PM Press/Reach & Teach Publications in October 2014. With more than 65 portraits photographed over a period of 10 years beginning in 2001, "Speaking OUT" provides rare insight into the ever-evolving passions, confusions, prejudices, fulfillment, joys and sorrows voiced by queer youth. More info >>

Liberal Arts Professor Speaks at 3 Conferences
Liberal Arts Professor Nancy G. Hellerjust presented a paper titled "El velorio del angelito – Spanish and Hispanic Visual Representations of a Child's Wake" at the annual conference of the College Art Association in Chicago. She has also been invited to speak about paintings of female flamenco dancers at this June's Flamenco History Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. Next October, Heller will be the keynote speaker for the First Symposium on Art and Gender, co-sponsored by two local universities in Lisbon, Portugal.

Faculty/Alum Featured in 'Metalsmith' Magazine
Craft & Material Studies shop supervisor, Continuing Studies professor and alumnus Joe Pillari BFA '08 (Crafts) was featured in Metalsmith magazine's winter issue. His photorealistic enameling drew the attention of the publication, which praises him for his meticulous work ethic, technical skill and eye for humanistic imagery. The story calls Pillari's technical expertise "mind-boggling; his poignant pictorials touch the heart…Despite his tender age, Pillari is an old-school artist-craftsman."

EVENTSVisiting Writers Series: Zach Savich
Created in connection with the University's Creative Writing program, the Visiting Writers Series features six acclaimed contemporary writers visiting the UArts campus each year. This reading features UArts Assistant Professor Zach Savich, the award-wining author of four books of poetry, including Century Swept Brutal, and a book of prose, Events Film Cannot Withstand. More info >>March 6, 7 p.m.Connelly Auditorium, Terra Hall

Third Space: International Performance, Exhibition and Lecture Series
A series of exhibitions, performances and lectures presented by International Student Programs. All events take place in the Levitt Foyer Gallery in Gershman Hall on Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

University Forum
Please join President Sean T. Buffington for a University Forum where we will be discussing student retention and how to improve it. Colleagues in institutional research, student affairs, financial aid and academic affairs will lead the discussion.March 19, 11:45 a.m.Arts Bank Theater

Book Release Party: City Abandoned
Party celebrating the release of Photography Master Lecturer Vincent D. Feldman's first book of photographs titled City Abandoned: Charting the Loss of Civic Institutions in Philadelphia (Paul Dry Books), set for release on March 11. Preview the book >>March 5, 5:30 – 7 p.m.The Print Center1614 Latimer Street, Philadelphia

Free Lunchtime Yoga
The popular free lunchtime yoga class sponsored by Staff Council is suitable for all levels and open to faculty, staff and students. Bring your yoga mat and take advantage of this beneficial opportunity. Classes continue weekly on Wednesdays through May 7. There are no classes during University forums or Spring Break.March 5, 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.Terra Hall, Room 407

Final Critique: Sarah Van Keuren
Exhibit by Printmaking Adjunct Professor Sarah Van Keuren, who says: "With all new work, this is my most experimental exhibition to date. For the first time I am tacking it up with pushpins. This is how my students put up their work for their final non-silver critiques. Come to think of it, this show is my final critique at UArts." More info >>Exhibition: Through March 22Reception: March 4, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Holding Pepina: Anne Leighton Massoni
In "Holding Pepina," newly appointed Assistant Professor and Photography Program Director Anne Leighton Massoni utilizes a combination of created images and found photographs to present works that inhabit a place between truth and fiction. More info >>Exhibition: Through March 14Opening: February 27, 4 p.m.

William H. Ely Senior Thesis Illustration Exhibition
The William H. Ely Illustration Exhibition is the Illustration program's senior thesis show. Endowed by its namesake in 1940, Ely Excellence in Illustration Awards are given to outstanding sets of student thesis work in this annual juried competition. More info >>Exhibition: March 19 – April 2Awards Reception: March 23, 3 – 5 p.m.

Holding Pepina: Anne Leighton Massoni
In "Holding Pepina," newly appointed Assistant Professor and Photography Program Director Anne Leighton Massoni utilizes a combination of created images and found photographs to present works that inhabit a place between truth and fiction. More info >>Through March 14

Breathing Pictures: Sean JusticeSean Justice's large photographic composites of landscapes and seascapes depict ordinary subjects from daily life. At first glance, the pictures look like traditional photographs, but with sustained viewing, it becomes apparent that the individual layers of each montage are slightly misaligned. More info >>Through March 14

The Art of Josh CochranJosh Cochranhas received awards from publications and organizations including Print Magazine's 20 under 30 New Visual Artists 2009, ADC Young Guns 6, Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, and was recently featured on the cover of Communication Arts. More info >>Through March 7